Flavor Tripping to Nowhere

This post is almost two weeks late, and quite frankly I've lost the inspiration. However, I need to at least mention this mini-adventure.

On Sunday, November 23rd, I had the opportunity to try the famed "Miracle Berry" (Synsepalum dulcificum) that is supposed to change the way foods taste. It's all the rage among the trendies in New York and L.A., (tasting parties) so of course I had to see what it was all about.

The idea is that you take this berry, chew it up a bit, let the juices swirl around in your mouth for a bit, and then for the next 30 to 45 minutes you get to experience wacky, mixed up, crazy flavors! Lemons taste sweet! Jalapenos taste mild! Snozzberries taste like snozzberries!

I must admit, I was worried that my super powers as a supertaster might make me immune to the effects of the berry. Sure enough-- nothing. We followed the directions to a tee (I even timed us to make sure no one spit out the berry too soon), but the effect was minimal. I ate a lemon and it tasted somewhat sweet, but that minimal effect only lasted for about five minutes. My wife and friend had a similar experience. I think of us all, my wife had the longest effect. We tried to chow down on as many things as possible to try to taste something different, but for me it was a complete waste of time.

Later on, we bought some concentrated pills that were supposed to have 10 times the potency. We let them dissolve on our tongues per the instructions, then went tasting again. Nope, nothing. Not for me, anyway. My friends faired a little better, but not by much.

Are we not good enough foodies? Are our palates not sophisticated enough to detect the subtle nuances of the miracle berry? Although possible, I think it is far more likely that the "effects" of the berry are enhanced by belief. I'm not saying that it's all psychological, but I think there is definitely some peer pressure to feel something. Especially after shelling out the price of the tasting ticket, one could be intimidated from saying the emperor has no clothes. Not me, though. That dude is naked.

On a positive note, the seeds of these berries are used to make the tastebud changing pills. The pills are given to patients going through chemotherapy or radiation treatment, both of which often cause everything to have a strong metallic taste. Supposedly, these pills combat that side-effect. Proceeds from this "tasting" went to a charity that distributes these pills, and we were able to donate the pits from our berries to them as well.

It was a very disappointing adventure.